The_Guardian_-_2016-12-29

South Africa in Rio. But rather than his age, what is most notable about Hassiem’s appearance, other
than his 6ft 4in frame, is the fact that he is missing a leg.
More notable still is the story of how he lost it: to a great white shark, when Hassiem and his brother
were training to be lifeguards off the coast of Cape Town in 2006. “I saw this little triangle moving
on top of the water moving towards my brother,” Hassiem said in Rio. “I decided to see what was
attached to this triangle and that’s when I saw a 4.7m great white shark. Immediately my first instinct
as the older brother was to protect my younger brother, and I started drumming on top of the water to
draw the shark’s attention away from him and towards myself. Next thing I know, the shark grabbed
my leg and I got pulled 50m under the water towards the depths. The worst part was listening to the
sound of the rescue boat’s propellers disappearing. As human beings, we are designed to fight back,
and that’s what I did: I started hitting the shark on the side of its head, started kicking it with my free
leg. And that’s when I could feel my leg break in half.”
Hassiem swam to the surface, survived a second attack by the shark and clambered aboard the rescue
boat, where his brother embraced him, and thanked Achmat for saving his life. This year’s Olympics
marked 10 years since that incident, during which he won a bronze medal at London 2012 in the S10
100m butterfly, and after qualifying for the same final in Rio, Hassiem hung up his trunks. However,
this is just the beginning of a new chapter for the South African, who has a new challenge after being
named a Global Shark Guardian by the United Nations’ Save Our Sharks Coalition in February, a
conservation role set up to protect the species which left him dismembered. MB
Achmat Hassiem competes in the S10 100m butterfly in Rio Photograph: Kay Nietfeld/EPA
4) Rob Greenwood
There was plenty to celebrate from a British perspective at the Paralympics in September. Picking out
individual moments is not easy given that Great Britain surpassed their target by winning 147 medals
and achieving their best result since Seoul 1988, but good places to start are Dame Sarah Storey’s
unrelenting excellence on a bike, Kadeena Cox becoming the first British Paralympian to top the
podium in two different sports since 1984, Hannah Cockroft’s hat-trick in the Olympic Stadium, Will
Bayley’s impish leap onto the table tennis table and Jonnie Peacock’s successful defence of his T11
100m title.
Paralympics: eight golden Great Britain